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Post by Kessie on Oct 8, 2011 15:59:01 GMT -5
I'm working on a story right now where the bad guy is a were-something. Not a wolf ... I'm thinking some kind of nasty wyrm thing.
Anyway, I want his human form to have some odd thing about it that starts to tip off the heroes that he may not be entirely human. I just don't want it to be his eyes. It's ALWAYS the eyes.
So I googled "how to identify a werewolf" for tips, and it was the standard stuff: hairy palms, weird cuts and bruises, yellow eyes, and for some reason, a unibrow.
But that doesn't really apply to a were that isn't a wolf. Anybody else have were-creatures that aren't wolves? How do you handle their human form?
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Post by birdnerd on Oct 8, 2011 16:39:03 GMT -5
Pick the most distinguishing characteristic of his alternate self and his "human" guise can have a very faint hint of that trait. For example, if the other critter is green and scaly, then the human form can be a little sickly pale.
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Post by myrthman on Oct 8, 2011 16:47:10 GMT -5
Do you know what critter he turns into yet? That might help pick a feature to highlight in his human form.
And maybe it's not a physical characteristic? A habit, maybe. Perhaps he's prone to chasing cats and snuggling up to fire hydrants. Over the years, he's learned to hide this; however, once in a while, as we all do, he slips and Someone notices.
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Post by Kessie on Oct 8, 2011 18:52:33 GMT -5
Myrthman: I'm thinking some kind of worm-monster thing with three jaws and slime and all. I'm just not sure how a human might correspond to that. Weird-looking hands?
Also, do you think silver would effect it? Wikipedia wasn't sure what silver signified in the werewolf lore, aside from maybe the moon.
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Post by myrthman on Oct 9, 2011 18:41:35 GMT -5
Maybe he drools a lot? or oozes from somewhere? Something analogous to the slime. Maybe chronic acne like Baron Harkonnen or the Spleen...
As far as a vulnerability goes, maybe salt? I'm thinking of childhood torture sessions with slugs. I looked at Wikipedia for "werewolf" and they said silver was a late addition to the legends (mid 1800s).
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Heather Titus
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a writer, a nerd, and lovin' it
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Post by Heather Titus on Oct 9, 2011 23:11:43 GMT -5
maybe your character sweats a ridiculous amount and it makes his skin slimy, which could correspond to the slime when in his were form.
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Post by metalikhan on Oct 10, 2011 10:01:52 GMT -5
Are you thinking wyrm as in a form of insect (worm) or as in a form of dragon? It sounds like insect but wyrm also has draconic associations. If it's insect (worm), some research about different species anatomies might yield some cool facts you can use. When I wrote Spider Dance, I learned (for examples) that their blood contains copper instead of iron, making it look blue rather than red and they can also regenerate body parts. Now that I think of it, worms have some regenerating abilities, too. So maybe your wereworm looses a finger/hand (ooops with a bandsaw?) but a few hours later has a new one. If it's dragon, you've got all kinds of wyrm lore to draw from. Maybe the human form has some odd skin textures. Lizard research will help with that. Not just scales -- some lizard skins look like fleshy crepe, others have a pebbled or beaded appearance. Some of them also have limited regenerating capabilities. Don't be too quick to discard the eye thing. When humans are face to face, we notice eyes (sooner or later). And how a werecreature sees depends heavily on the optical anatomy of its beast nature. But you can circumvent it so eyes aren't the main or first tip-off the hero notices. Werecreatures can be sharp enough in their human forms to know the value of contacts (available in most eye colors at your friendly, local optometrist office). Of course, that wouldn't entirely help if there's a touch of turret chameleon so the eyes are looking different directions, but there are human eye conditions close enough to pass it off as this or that disease/syndrome/defect. Just thinking.
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Post by Kessie on Oct 10, 2011 15:41:41 GMT -5
Metalikhan: Actually, I'm working off that intriguing word in The Hobbit, when Bilbo mentions going to the wastes to fight were-worms. I've been pondering what in the world a were-worm might be.
A man-worm, as in the invertebrate? Or more of a wyrm, like a dragon? Either way, it strikes me as quite the nasty creature.
I like your idea with the eyes going different directions! Maybe have one eye just a little bit "gotch", so it's hard to tell if he's looking right at you. Kind of like that guy in Men in Black who his head would grow back if you shot him. (Wasn't that Monk?)
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Cat
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Post by Cat on Oct 10, 2011 20:52:21 GMT -5
Metalikhan: Actually, I'm working off that intriguing word in The Hobbit, when Bilbo mentions going to the wastes to fight were-worms. I've been pondering what in the world a were-worm might be. A man-worm, as in the invertebrate? Or more of a wyrm, like a dragon? Either way, it strikes me as quite the nasty creature. I like your idea with the eyes going different directions! Maybe have one eye just a little bit "gotch", so it's hard to tell if he's looking right at you. Kind of like that guy in Men in Black who his head would grow back if you shot him. (Wasn't that Monk?) I think it was! LOL I was thinking you were heading in a more of a dragon-wyrm approach, too. What if his hands were just a little bit longer than normal, and his fingernails just oh-so-slightly clawed?
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Post by Kessie on Oct 10, 2011 22:06:11 GMT -5
I was thinking you were heading in a more of a dragon-wyrm approach, too. What if his hands were just a little bit longer than normal, and his fingernails just oh-so-slightly clawed? I was thinking of something like that. You know how tree lizards, like iguanas, have a really long third toe? Like, it's twice as long as the other toes. I was thinking this guy could have a really long middle finger. To the point that his hands almost look like the hands of the Silence in Doctor Who. Except with five fingers, not three. And, you don't forget him as soon as you look away. *shudder*
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Cat
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Post by Cat on Oct 10, 2011 22:51:27 GMT -5
That always creeped me out too, how you could forget someone as soon as you turned away. *shudder*
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Post by yoda47 on Oct 14, 2011 13:03:40 GMT -5
Possibly slightly longer arms, neck, jawbone, something as well...
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Post by fluke on Nov 5, 2011 11:55:47 GMT -5
Going the worm route, the first thing that comes to mind is being very flexible. Could even joke about being double jointed whenever it's noticed.
BTW, unibrows in werewolf lore are like hairy palms, too much hair for a normal person.
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Post by myrthman on Nov 5, 2011 12:55:12 GMT -5
Going the worm route, the first thing that comes to mind is being very flexible. Could even joke about being double jointed whenever it's noticed. This is an excellent idea! Love it!! Just googled "wereworms" and found a reference to The Hobbit that I hadn't remembered. Makes me wonder what Tolkien had in mind. Check it out: www.glyphweb.com/arda/w/wereworms.html
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Post by Kessie on Nov 5, 2011 13:39:44 GMT -5
Yeah, that was the quote I had in mind when I started working on the character. I wonder if anybody else has ever run with this idea? I know in Dungeons and Dragons, dragons appear in human form as a matter of course.
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